How to cook chicken wings in a slow cooker

Written by barbie carpenter | 13/05/2017

Make chicken wings in the slow cooker. (wings closer image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com)

Slow-cooker chicken wings are a family-friendly recipe that is convenient for the cook who is short on time. Toss the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and set the timer, and you'll come home to dinner waiting for you. Plus, the slow cooker allows you to experiment with new sauces and flavours for the wings, meaning no one will get tired of this easy recipe. Offer slow-cooker chicken wings after a busy day or at your next party.

Cut the tips off of each chicken wing using kitchen shears. Throw away the tips. Alton Brown of the Food Network recommends separating the wings at the joint using your shears, which will expedite cooking and ensure that the slow cooker cooks the chicken thoroughly and evenly. (see Reference 1)

Wash and dry the raw chicken wings, and place them in the slow cooker.

Mix the chicken wing sauce in a separate bowl. For example, a classic chicken wing sauce recipe from What's Cooking America includes soy sauce, honey, ketchup, garlic and vegetable oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Set the slow cooker to low heat.

Pour the sauce of your choice over the chicken wings. Mix the chicken and sauce, making sure that you thoroughly cover the wings in the sauce.

Allow the chicken wings to cook in the slow cooker for four to six hours. Times vary depending on how quickly your slow cooker cooks, so base your time on standard cooking times for other recipes.

Tip

Mix up your recipe with a different sauce. Alton Brown's recipe for orange-glazed chicken wings includes frozen orange juice, hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and crushed red pepper flakes. If you don't have time to make your own sauce, use a bottled sauce from your pantry. Barbecue and teriyaki sauces are traditional choices for chicken wings.

Warning

Make sure that you've cooked the chicken thoroughly before serving. You can do so by checking the internal temperature of the meat. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 73.9 to 76.7 degrees Celsius, according to the University of Minnesota.

If you don't have time to make your own sauce, use a bottled sauce from your pantry. Barbecue and teriyaki sauces are traditional choices for chicken wings.

Make sure that you've cooked the chicken thoroughly before serving. You can do so by checking the internal temperature of the meat. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 73.9 to 76.7 degrees Celsius, according to the University of Minnesota.